Professors can't dance
by FigaroFish
Summary: A slightly romantic Kate and Abe story, with the occasional action and yes...dancing. Some mild cursing.


Based on the comics, animations and movies. This is a Kate/Abe story, weird enough. Both are intelligent and very likable characters. Me myself always thought Liz and Abe were more into eachother in the comics, but this somehow it seemed natural when I started writing it. I really like kate's character in the comics and also in the animations. To bad she wasn't in the movies, but you can't have two awesome leading ladies in the same movie I guess... First chapter is mainly just stuff happening in a everyday situation, but later on in chapter two (hopefully coming soon), there will be some action...

* * *

'Well? What do you think?' Kate held up a blue dress in front of his eyes with a pleading look in her eyes.

Hellboy leaned back in his chair, sipping his espresso absent-minded and pulled a straight face: 'Well, it would take me a while to squish into it, but I will give it a try.'

From the back off the room she could hear Abe snickering quietly behind his cup of tea.

Kate waved a hand in the air with annoyance: 'Oh, never mind Red, you are no help whatsoever…Ah Liz!'

Elizabeth Sherman walked into the library with a slight annoyed look on her face and a B.P.R.D cup with strong black coffee in her right hand. Her long black hair was ruffled on one side and she was still wearing her baggy pajamas.

'Please Kate…'She stifled yet another yawn.'- whatever you are gonna ask me, I am not in the mood.'

Just a mere 24 hours ago she was out on a mission in Luxembourg and nearly got bitten by a vampire. No problem there, since she burned the bastard, but now she was suffering from a severe jetlag. Liz crawled onto the sofa at the end of the library next to Abe and sipped her coffee, uttering silent curses directed at 'those damn Europeans' and 'stinking airplanes'.

Hellboy automatically lit up a cigar and glanced at the dress, still clutched into Kate's hands, with only a slight interest. It was made of a shining soft looking dark blue material and the cut was that of a formal gown…only a tad more revealing. 'What's the occasion, my lady?'

From the back off the room, where Abe was already reading his seventh newspaper of the day, they heard a calm but very audible–'_ahum_'- and Hellboy hurriedly put out his cigar.

'A formal shindig organized by the university I used to teach at.' Kate stared with some anxiety at the blue garment. 'Imagine, all kinds off stuck up professors get liquored up and dance till midnight like its 1999.'

'Sounds smashing.'

'Yeah well…I can't dance if my life the depended on it…maybe someone could-'

'Well don't look at me- I am worse then a brick when it comes to formal dance-stuff.'

A slight frown appeared on Kate's forehead. 'A brick?'

Hellboy got up with a nonchalant shrug and walked towards Liz whose eyes were slowly closing. The cup she was holding slipped out of her hands and Abe caught it just in time, before the content spilled all over the floor.

Liz blinked several times and grudgingly looked at both males: 'Sorry about that.'

Abe just gave a small smile, but Hellboy scowled.

'Come on, let's get you back to bed.'

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When they both left the library, Kate sat down with a sigh, dress discarded on a chair. There wasn't a lot to do lately at the bureau for her. Kate knew she should be happy that nothing bad had happened for a while, but now even simple things like a party seemed to hang like a dark cloud above her head and nothing could distract her. Seeing all those so called college-friends again, 10 years later, would be fun for most people, but she probably didn't have anything to tell them anyway…

_Yes, yes I still work at the B.P.R.D, great fun__, greaaat fun… Not much happening at the moment… no, I am not in a relationship, no…_

'Meh.'

She almost pleadingly looked over her shoulder where the merman now resided behind a large leather-bound book. He didn't even notice.

'Abraham?'

Silence.

'Abe?'

He looked up from his book. 'Hm?'

'You don't happen to know someone who can dance do you?' She shifted her position ever so tenuously, formulating her words carefully.' I like parties and all- even formal ones, but only drinking and eating isn't my way of having fun.'

'Aha…'

There was a moment of silence again and Kate felt like he could almost hear him thinking, although his expression never changed. His blue eyes went back to his book and feeling like she was being ignored, Kate felt a slight angry feeling growing in the back of her head until she suddenly heard his gentle voice speak up again:

'If you mean by _dance-_ formal dancing, then I can teach you, if you want me too.' He still didn't look up from his book and his slender fingers flipped a page.

She blinked several times, glancing at his expressionless face.

'You can…uhm…you can dance?'

Abe laid down his book and shrugged. 'Sure. Professor Bruttenholm taught me. In his education, formal dancing was just as important as math.'

Kate looked at him incredulously.

'Hellboy never got the knack of it, so he put all his efforts in me- so to speak, although some more classic dances seemed to come naturally to me, like I already knew how to do them... Manning thought it was hilarious at first, but then luckily I found out one day that when Manning is a bit tipsy, he dances like a ballerina...'

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'Lay your hand on my shoulder and- yes, okay. Now let's begin with a simple foxtrot.'

A slightly cold, but not unpleasant hand was resting on her side and with an unfamiliar nervous feeling Kate clumsily followed Abe's directions on the beat of the music. It wasn't as hard as she thought it would be, but she just wished she was more graceful like Abe was naturally. It was nine o'clock and Abe had chosen the time because most people were busy at the moment with their own things and Kate appreciated the privacy. If she was going to make a fool out of herself then rather affront of someone who wouldn't laugh at her mistakes, like Hellboy would obviously do. After a while of dancing the foxtrot and the slow waltz, with the fire lit and the sweet music playing on the background, her nerves melted away and she actually started to enjoy the atmosphere. Although Abe was a, well, an aqua coloured man with fins, he easily made the people around him feel relaxed, even in such peculiar situations like these.

'You are a quick learner.' He said nonchalantly as he made them spin on the spot.

Kate smiled back at him, hoping the burning sensation he gave her by complimenting her, didn't appear on her face in the form of a red shade. She hated losing her cool and she respected her colleague too much for her to make a dumbass out of herself.

'Doctor Grime was just dreadful at first, but she came trough eventually.'

'You uhm…danced with her as well?' She kept her voice casual. 'I didn't know...'

This strangely stung her deeply. Thinking of Abe, dancing with that pretty doctor of the medical department, was not a welcome thought at the moment…It just killed the pleasant evening mood and made her feel more aware of her own average looks.

Abe noticed the change apparently in her expression, but he lately didn't read minds without permission, so Kate hoped he didn't just saw the things she wanted to do to that Doctor Grime with that medieval axe that hung in the hallway.

'What's wrong?'

'Hmmm....nothing, Abe.'

He blinked twice and they both stopped in their tracks, the music mockingly continuing in the background.

'You must be tired.'

Kate surprise was quickly concealed by a faint smile as she looked at the old grandfather clock. It was half part eleven. The perfect excuse. In her short silence she was struck by the sudden awareness of the fact that Abe's cool right hand that was still located on the small of her back, which produced an uncontrolled intimate thought in the back of her head. Her face reddened with intensity. Abe detected it and he couldn't help but to catch the unexpected thought, on which he released her immediately with his eyes slightly more widely open and a small tinge of purple appearing on his cheeks.

'Uhm...you...I- Maybe we should stop for the time being...?' He eyed her with no detectable expression, but his pose was anything but relaxed.

You could have cut the tension with a knife, but Kate started talking like nothing happened with a slight quiver in her voice, while a panicky chaos took control of her mind.

'So uhm...Yeah, tomorrow I have to finish a paper.' She said a bit too loud, while she took several deep breaths, hoping to loosen up her strained body composure. 'But maybe we can continue this the day after that?'

Abe merely nodded and with a quick genuine: '_thanks_' she quickly left the room.

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It wasn't like he _wasn't_ attractive...She admired the lean swimmers physique, the colour of his skin and all that- like in a abstract way, but damn! She never thought about him like _that _before! That quick moment of her thinking about well...a bit more than just snogging him, was just really brief and it meant absolutely nothing.

_Uhuh...yeah that's just peachy, Kate.__ I mean, you can't be even more confusing to yourself can you. Alright, he is, let's say pretty...handsome is not the right word- and he is kind and intelligent, sometimes a bit cranky but he is Abe. Abraham Sapien. He is a colleague and a great friend. It isn't like he is in your league anyway...Liz is more his type I guess..._

'Shit!' She slammed the coffee cup absent-minded on the table with such force half its hot content spilled over the table and her hand.

'What a fine morning, aye Professor?' Liz cracked a bright smirk as she handed over a dish towel. Kate grunted as she started moping off the canteen table and scrutinized the younger woman next to her. 'Slept well, I see?'

Liz indeed looked refreshed and smiled more brightly as a response. Her black hair was still slightly damp and a towel was draped over a shoulder, but she now wore some jeans and a black top, instead of those unflattering pyjamas. 'Yeah I was hampered last night, but nothing a nice soft bed and a good early morning swim can't cure. I even almost beat Abe in a swimming contest and by beating- I off course mean being only six laps behind this time instead of ten...Is something the matter Kate- you seem awfully quiet...'

'Hm.' She dropped the towel in the sink and sipped her remaining coffee, burning the tip of her tong.' Yeah yeah, I am fine...it is just- nah never mind. Uhm...how is Abe doing anyway?' Her voice sounded waaaay too casual. _Shit, wrong question, dumbass._

Liz was indeed well rested and spotted the vague hints of discomfort immediately: 'Hmmm, why so interested?' A nasty smirk appeared on her face- 'Oh, yeah, he gave you dance lessons didn't he? How did it go?'

_Ugh, how does she always know __how to ask really awkward questions..._

Liz merely continued in a happy spirit. 'Are you any good or are you are lost cause like Grime was? I tell you though, she probably only pretended to be crap at it, so she could spend more time with him, hehe... She is a bit sly like that, I mean do you think they are an item or something –Kate, wha-?'

'I gotta go, sorry, paper and all.' She quickly took her cup with her and left the canteen in hurry, leaving a dumbfounded Liz behind. That wasn't what she wanted to hear. As she was strutting trough the large hallways, several flashes of Abe and Grime together in dimly lighted room invaded her mind and she didn't like it...no she really didn't. Kate liked Professor Yusrah Grime well enough, but now she wouldn't be able to look at her normally ever again-

'-Doctor Grime?! What, what are you doing here?' _That's a great question Kate, she working here and all._

A pretty woman with a peter pan haircut and lab coat stared at her incredulously. 'Professor Corrigan, didn't you hear the alarm go off?'

Kate blinked several times and only noticed just then the hallways were bathing in red flashes. _Wow, maybe I need some sleep as well..._

Grime's tanned face was set in a perplexed expression, but then she merely laughed at her awestruck face, and dragged her along towards the conference room.

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Next chapter: A mission!


End file.
